Composite aerostructure design and manufacturing services

The Composite aerostructures is an aerostructure design and manufacturing service from FACC with aerospace-grade quality for the civil market. FACC composite aerostructures are design, manufacturing and maintenance services for aircraft structures, offered by FACC. The work covers lightweight composite structures for passenger aircraft and executive jets, including primary structures such as rudders and elevators, delivered as aerostructure components for the individual aircraft programme.

The portfolio is organised by aircraft function. Wing components include winglets and wingtips, which reduce induced drag by limiting the pressure bleed around the wing tip, as well as flaps, spoilers and ailerons. Flaps raise lift in slow flight at takeoff and landing, spoilers act as air brakes that cut lift and add drag, and ailerons roll the aircraft by working in opposite directions. Tail components include the vertical stabilizer with its rudder, which controls yaw, and the horizontal stabilizer with its elevators, which control pitch.

Fairings and covers form a second group. Wing-to-body fairings create the aerodynamic transition between wing and fuselage and cover systems installed outside the pressurized cabin. Flap track fairings enclose the guide rail and drive system of the flaps, smoothing the airflow and shielding the mechanism from dirt and debris. Radomes are removable nose caps that let electromagnetic radiation pass and protect the antennas behind them.

The maker states that its lightweight systems improve aerodynamics and reduce take-off weight, which lowers fuel consumption. The main material is fibre-reinforced composite. Part geometry, materials and production process are defined for each programme with the customer, so the product has no single catalogue datasheet; specifications are agreed per project.

For buyers, the services span the whole life cycle: engineering from concept, series production, and maintenance, repair and modification. FACC states that it is certified for design under Part 21/J, for production under Part 21/G and for maintenance under Part 145. This allows supplemental type certificate work and major and minor repairs and changes to be handled by one supplier, with engineering and production working closely together.

Typical applications are structures for commercial passenger aircraft and business jets built by manned-aircraft manufacturers. Engineers and procurement teams evaluating aerostructure suppliers for wing, tail and fairing assemblies will find the scope relevant, and the same page links to the maker's MRO services for in-service support.